These days, social media is all the buzz. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and FourSquare are great tools, but how can they help NLP coaches? I use social media to:
*Stay connected with the people that I love, providing a constant source of happiness and inspiration.
*Offering follow-up and post-training support to previous clients.
*Reconnecting on a personal level with clients from my past, both in order to keep up with their successes and challenges, but also because I genuinely care about their happiness and well-being!
*Meeting new people and engaging in conversations and learning.
Personally speaking, I am less interested in the marketing and sales applications of social media technologies, though they hold great potential for business growth. I am more of a people person; I enjoy helping people realize their potential and progress in their lives. Simply because of my personality, I am constantly communicating with others and frequently pick up clients unintentionally in the course of my daily actions, especially through the use of social media.
If you are running your own coaching business, remember that YOU are the product! Your actions, advice and generous personality will naturally lead potential clients to you. Social Media is a great way to meet new people and build relationships that start online and then transition into "real life."
That being said, it is very important not to treat social media relationships as simply as a means to recruit new clients. People are extremely turned off by the slightest sniff of SPAM. Think of yourself as a a provider of value and seek to be a good role model, practicing what you preach. If you have the intention of building relationships, engaging in conversations and "being the change you want to see in the world," the marketing will take care of itself.
Nicole Schneider is a Senior Trainer at Global NLP Training, the international leader in Life Coach training courses.